Car-door mechanism



May 11 1926.

W. F. CREMEAN GAR no'on MECHANISM Filed June 23, 1924 NM Q Q m m & M m

Patented May 11, 1926.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM F. CREMEAN, F TOLEDO, OHIO.

CAR-DOOR MECHANISM.

Application filed June 23, 1924.

My invention relates to car door mechanism suitable for the operation and control of swinging drop doors such as are employed to close the lading discharge openings in drop bottom or hopper bottom cars.

The principal object of the invention 18 to afford simple, reliable, easily manipulated and efiicient means for causing such drop doors to assume prop-er closed position and for securely retaining them in closed pos1- tion.

A primary feature of the invention, generally stated, consists in providing the door mechanism with a pivotally mounted hook which is adapted to releasably cooperate with the swinging door and to connect said hook member to the door through the intervention of a movable link device actuated by the hook member, whereby rotation of the latter results in actuating the link device so as positively to effect the desired swinging movement of the door.

Another feature of the invention consists in providing a pivotally mounted hook memher which is adapted to cooperate with the door to prevent an opening movement thereof, the said hook member being movably connected to the door by means of a link device and having means for establishing a detachable connection with a removable lever for rotating said hook member so as to induce a movement of the link device causing the door to swing to closed position.

A further feature of the invention consists in providing a door mechanism with a rotatable hook member, a link device movably connected to said hook member and to the door, and locking means for releasably engaging said link device to prevent accidental movement of the latter with respect to the hook member, said hook member being adapted to engage the door to support it against opening movement, and the look ing means and hook member being rotatable on a common axis.

Other features of the invention residing in particular combinations of parts and advantageous forms of the several parts of the mechanism will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention, the scope whereof is pointed out in the claims:

Figure 1 is a View in side elevation of a portion of a hopper of a railway car, showing a door mechanism embodying the in- Serial No. 721,798.

'vention applied thereto, the door being in closed position.

Figure 2 is a view corresponding to Figure 1 but showing the positions occupied by the parts when the door is open.

F igure 3 is a detail sectional View of a portion of the mechanism, taken on the line 8-3 of Figure 1.

The car shown in the drawings is of the hopper bottom type but it will be appreciated that the door mechanism is suitable for application to the drop doors of cars of other forms. In the drawings, 1 indicates the side sheet of the hopper portion of the car and 2 indicates the door for closing the discharge opening of the hopper. The door may be hinged to the car body in any convenient manner, as for example, by means of the customa -y hinge straps 8 and hinge pintle 4, and may be of any desired form. The door illustrated is of the familiar pressed metal type having outwardly extending marginal flanges. Secured to the outer face of the door and extending transversely of the car is a door stiffener or door spreader 5 which may be in the form of a Z-bar. Projecting outwardly beyond the opposite ends of the door stiffener-s 5 are door arms 6 which are respectively bent outwardly so as to pass under the neighboring side flange of the door. The door arms preferably are formed as sections of angle irons and each afiords a locking face or portion 7 adapted to be engaged by the supporting hook member. As these details of the door construction are well known, and form no essential part of the invention, further description f the door 2 is unnecessary.

Pivotally mounted upon the hopper side sheet 1 of the car body, preferably but a shortdistance inwardly of the hopper di charge opening 8, is a hook member 9 having a ledge or shoulder 10 which, as shown in Figure 1, is adapted to engage and overlap the hook seat or flange 7 of the door arm (5 so as to maintain the door Qin closed position. The hook 9 may be pivotally mounted upon the side sheet 1 of the hopper through the intervention of a plate or bracket 11 secured to the latter by the counter-sunk rivets 12 and by the rivet 13 which passes through a hollow outwardly projecting pivot post 14 with which the bracket is preferably provided. The hook member 9 is journaled upon the pivot post 14: as also is a locking device or cam 15 which, as will later appear, serves to prevent the hook from accidentally rotating to a position permitting the door to open. lhe hook 9 and rotatable cam are retained on the pivot post 14; by means of a washer 16 which engages the outer end of the post and thereby permits the hook and cam to rotate without binding.

The hook member 9 is pivoted intermediate of its ends so as to constitute a lever having one arm. formed with a hook and having another arm 17- which is pivotally connected by means of a pin or rivet 18 to a link device 19 movably connected to the door 2. The link device 19 is preterably formed as a bent rigid bar which, when the door is closed, stands below the pivotal point 13 of the hook 9 and rotatable locking cam At its outer end the link 19 may be pivotally connected to the door 2 by means of a pivot pin or rivet 20 which passes through a suitable bracket 21 carried by the door. The bracket 21 may be advantageously secured to the door by being riveted to the door arm 6 thereof. As shown in Figure 2, the arm 17 of the hook member 9 is preferably so designed that it projects outwardly beyond the plane of the hopper discharge opening 8 when the door is open, such a construction being advantageous in that it enables a comparatively short link 19 to be employed.

Between its ends the link 19 is formed with an outwardly projecting lug or shoulder 22 adapted to cooperate with the rotatable cam or latch 15, the latter being provided upon its inner face with an ec centric flange 23 which, when the parts are in locked position, as shown in Fig ure 1, extends under and engages the lug 22 of the link so as to prevent said link from executing a movement corresponding to the opening of the door. In this manner the hook 9 is maintained in locked position and prevented .from accident-ally rotating.

As those skilled in the art are well aware, drop bottom doors often become distorted or warped in service, thus necessitating the application of considerable force thereto in order to cause them to assume final closed position. To permit the operator easily to apply great force to the door, whenever it may become necessary to do so, the hook member 9 is preferably constructed so as to enable it to form a detachable connection with a removable operating bar or lever. For this purpose the member 9 ma 1 be advantageously provided near its hooked end with a pair of outwardly extending spaced lugs or pins 24': for receiving between them, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2, a removable lever 25. By applying force in the proper direction to the removable lever, the hook member 9 may be rotated with greater ease and the pull upon the link 19 necessary to bring the door to final closed position, may be readily applied. After the door 2 has been closed and the hook 9 is in its locked position, the cam 15 is rotated to the position illustrated in Figure 1, thus locking the parts of the door mechanism against accidental release. If desired, the removable lever 25 may be inserted between the lugs 24; for the purpose of actuating the hook member 9 so as to release the door; but such a door releasing movement of the hook may ordinarily be eii'ected by simply knocking upwardly upon the outer end of the hook after the cam 15 has been rotated to unlocked position.

While the drawings only illustrate a door mechanism cooperating with one side of the door, it is to be understood that a.

similar door mechanism cooperates with the opposite side of the door on the other side of the car, there being two such mechanisms for each door.

Many slight changes in construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A car door mechanism including, in combination with a swinging door, a hook member pivotally mounted on the car body so as to rotate about a fixed axis, a link movably connected to said hook member and to said door, and means carried by said door adapted to be engaged by said hook member to prevent an opening movement of said door.

2. A car door mechanism including, in combination with a swinging door, a hook member movably mounted on the car body, a link device pivotally connected to said hook member and said door, and means carried by said door adapted releasably to be engaged by said hook member to maintain the door in closed position.

3. A car door mechanism including, in combination with a swinging door, a movable hook member, a link device inovably connected to said hook member, said hook member and link device being operatively interposed between said 'door and the car body and constituting means for actuating said door, and said hook member being adapted when in one position to prevent an opening movement of said door and constitute means for actuating said link device to effect a closing movement of said door.

4. A car door mechanism including, in combination with a swinging door, a pivotally mounted hook member having a fixed axis of rotation and adapted to engage said door to prevent an opening movement of the latter, and means movably connecting said hook member and said door and adapted to be actuated by said hook member to cause a closing movement of said door. 9

5. A car door mechanism including, in

combination with a swinging door, a pivotally mounted hook member having a fixed axis of rotation, and a rigid link device pivotally connected to said hook member and to said door and adapted to be actuated by a pivotal movement of said hook member.

6. A car door mechanism including, in combination with a swinging door, a hook member constituting a lever, and means movably connected to said hook member and to said door for moving the latter when said hook member is actuated, one of the lever arms of said hook member being adapted to cooperate with said door to support it against opening movement.

7. A car door mechanism including, in combination with a swinging door, a movable hook which is adapted to occupy a po sition preventing opening movement of said door, and means actuated by said hook for causing a swinging movement of said door, said book being provided with means for engaging a removable lever whereby said hook may be actuated.

8. A car door mechanism including, in combination with a swinging door, a hook member pivoted between its ends, a link device pivotally connected to said hook memher and to said door, one end of said hook member being adapted to cooperate with said door to maintain the latter in closed position and the other end of said hook member being connected to said link device, and means for maintaining said hook member and link device in a position corresponding to the closed position of said door.

9. A car door mechanism including, in combination with a swinging door, a pivoted hook adapted to cooperate-with said door to maintain the latter in closed position, a link device pivotally connected to said hook member and to said door, and a rotatable locking member adapted to engage said link device to prevent accidental unlocking rotation of said hook.

10. A car door, mechanism including, in combination with a swinging door, a hook member adapted to cooperate with said door to maintain the latter in closed position, means for preventing an accidental unlocking movement of said hook member, said means and said hook member being rotatable on a common axis, and a link device movably connected to said hook member and said door, said means being adapted to engage said link device.

11. A car door mechanism including, in combination with a swinging door, a rotatable hook member adapted to cooperate with said door to retain the latter in closed position, a rotatable cam, said cam and said hook having a common axis of rotation, and a link device connecting said hook member and said door, said cam being adapted to engage said link device to prevent said hook member from accidentally performing an unlocking rotation.

door and being provided with means for engaging a removable lever whereby said hook member may be rotated.

13. A car door mechanism including in combination with a swinging door, two pivotally connected members one of which is pivotally mounted on the car body and the other pivotally connected to the door, the pivotal points of said members being fixed with respect to the parts upon which said members are mounted, and means for preventing accidental unlocking movements of said members.

14. A car door mechanism including, in combination with a swinging door, a pivoted hook member adapted to cooperate with said door to prevent an opening movement of the latter, a link pivotally connected to said hook member and to said door, and arotatable device for locking said hook member and link against accidental movement, said device and said hook member being rotatable on a common axis, and said link being provided with a shoulder which is adapted to be releasably engaged by said locking device.

15. A car door mechanism including, in combination with a swinging door, a hook member pivotally mounted on the car body, and a link device movably connected to said hook member and to said door, said hook member being pivoted between its ends and having an arm to which said link device is connected, said arm being adapted to extend beyond the plane of the discharge opening closed by said door.

, 16. A car door mechanism including in combination with a swinging door, a hook member pivotally mounted on the car body, and a link device movably connected to said hook member and to said door, said link device passing under the pivotal point of said hook member when the latter occupies a position corresponding to the closed position of the door. I

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

WILLIAM F. CREMEAN. 

